Read Online Missing Magic by Karen Whiddon - Free Book Online Page A

and
demanding a cut of her income. Dee barely even remembered the last
time she’d arrested the woman. The lies were no doubt part of some
elaborate scheme to get even.
    When the first instance occurred, her direct
supervisor, Lieutenant Cowell, had told her the suspension was only
a formality.
    “Of course we have to open an investigation.
You know the drill. Take a few days off, let Internal Affairs look
into it, and this will all be over before you know it.”
    She’d believed him. After all, Dee was an
honest cop. She’d never done anything even skirting the borders of
unethical in her life.
    Taken her boss’s advice, Dee had gone
shopping the first day of her paid suspension. She imagined she’d
be back at work by the end of the week.
    Then a second civilian came forward. This
time, his accusations were harder to dismiss. A respected business
owner, his coffee shop was near her patrol area. His accusations of
Dee demanding protection money were so ludicrous, she couldn’t
believe anyone would take them seriously.
    Unfortunately, the police department had no
choice.
    This time, Lieutenant Cowell had referred
Dee’s questions to Internal Affairs. Police Chief Ferguson had left
a message on her machine, asking her to avoid the press until the
situation was resolved.
    She supposed she could count herself lucky
they hadn’t made her turn in her badge or her service revolver.
Yet. Everyone knew once that happened, your career was over.
    Still… it wasn’t as if she ever could ever
regain her old standing in the department. These types of
accusations, even once disproved, could hang over a cop’s head
forever.
    Her neatly ordered world had been turned
upside down. None of this made any sense. Sometimes she found
herself wondering if she’d inadvertently stepped into an old
episode of the Twilight Zone. She even caught herself looking
around corners, half expecting Ashton Kucher to jump out and yell
“Punked!”
    In short, she wanted to wake up from this bad
dream.
    She glanced at Cenrick, who appeared lost in
his own thoughts. Instead, things had gotten even more surreal. Now
she had to deal with alternate realities, a Fae prince, and the
knowledge that a horrible, atrocious act had been committed against
his people. Possibly by her Mick, her best friend.
    Keeping ahead of Cenrick, Dee pushed through
the double glass doors feeling like a one woman cyclone. She hated
this unfocused feeling. As a cop, she was used to taking
action.
    “One dead end.” Cenrick’s slightly accented
statement made her start.
    “True.” She wiped her suddenly damp palms on
her jeans. They reached her car and she pressed the key fob,
unlocking the doors. “So we’ve got to think of something else.”
    Sliding in the car beside her, Cenrick
nodded. “Any thoughts?”
    “Not yet.” She forced a smile, turning the
key in the ignition. “I’m thinking we should circle back and check
out the house. Maybe do a stake out.”
    “Stake out?” .
    “Watch the place, without Mick and his new
friends knowing. Maybe they’ll leave him alone long enough for one
of us to get in and talk to him.”
    “Sounds good.” He rewarded her with another
one of his breath-stealing smiles. “Let’s go.”
    She drove the speed limit, taking care not to
break any laws. The last thing they needed was for one of her
former co-workers to pull them over.
    “Look.” Cenrick pointed at the horizon in the
general direction of Mick’s place. “What’s that?”
    A soft glow lit up the sky.
    Damned if she knew. Light like that usually
meant spotlights and crowds. If there’d been smoke, she’d have
suspected a fire.
    She pushed the accelerator harder, gradually
picking up speed.
    When they reached the end of the Mick’s
block, she pulled to the curb. Though they were still four houses
down the street, Mick’s place appeared lit up from within, lit up
so brightly it positively glowed . A quick check assured her
there were no spotlights, or exterior